Slashdot Mirror
Data Preservation and How Ancient Egypt Got It Right
storagedude writes to tell us that a storage geek has an interesting article on why ancient Egyptians were better than us at data preservation — and what we need to do to get caught up. "After rocks, the human race moved on to writing on animal skins and papyrus, which were faster at recording but didn't last nearly as long. Paper and printing presses were even faster, but also deteriorated more quickly. Starting to see a pattern? And now we have digital records, which might last a decade before becoming obsolete. Recording and handing down history thus becomes an increasingly daunting task, as each generation of media must be migrated to the next at a faster and faster rate, or we risk losing vital records."
I don't know of any other way to preserve our pr0n on rocks.
Well from what I learned on Tech TV it's really easy to break... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4GYg-5AdRw
I'd say more, but my guild is raiding.
Etch barcodes into rocks.
We Lenny them into rocks.
You can't put DRM on a rock.
Anybody want my mod points?
M Khan is bent?
It's true I tell you, feller at work's next door neighbour read it in the paper.
A lot of data retention is because of legal requirements. At the bank I work at, we're required to keep *everything* for at least seven years - all our emails are archived, instant messenger communications, etc.
As society gets larger and dehumanized, soon that'll be all we have.
It doesn't matter, whether you lived in a house for 30 years and all the neighbors know you. If you don't have a piece of paper with a stamp on it, it doesn't matter. One Thursday, you'll see Yellow in the bathroom mirror.
on our hard drives. Porn. That will keep them scratching their heads for years.
"This primitive race seemed to be preoccupied with sex. So how did they fail to reproduce and let their race die out?"
Way back in the ancient times, only important stuff was carved into stone. Now everyone on our planet is squirreling away all kinds of useless crap on digital media.
Future alien archeologists will have a hell of a job sorting out the crap from the, well, stuff that is just a little less than crap.
Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
This is why I've been chiseling reddit headlines into the concrete in my driveway. And the neighbors call me crazy!!!
I hold very few opinions. I hold information based on observation and fact. If you wish to disagree, please use facts.
Well, Stallman and I would tell you that given those two options, rock may be a better format. Hmmm, make that GNU/rock.
no one can read the damn Hieroglyphs any more, so what does it matter that it lasted 4000 years?
Actually, I can read some Hieroglyphics. For example, the ones in the article's picture refer to something about "DVMCAIIXV takethdown notyce for CovpyriGt Infrryngemynt" or something like that.
At the bottom it is signed by the "RIVV".
Can anyone tell me what the conversion factor is from Libraries of Congress to Libraries of Alexandria?
From my point of view, the entire universe will simply cease to exist when I die. Still, I'm not going to waste time "documenting my life" on Facebook or Twitter.
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is usually crucified.
a problem easily solved by soylent green.
http://www.accountkiller.com/removal-requested
Such as encryption keys!
An SQL query goes to a bar, walks up to a table and asks, "Mind if I join you?"
Did any fish go on the Ark? Perhaps Egyptians are fish. Or made of wood.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."